Creamy Risotto with Mushrooms, Spinach and Smoked Ham - Krämig risotto med champinjoner, spenat och rökt skinka

CREAMY RISOTTO WITH MUSHROOMS,

SPINACH AND SMOKED HAM

Krämig risotto med champinjoner, spenat

och rökt skinka

Serves 4

4 cups water

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.6 cups round-grained rice

0.4 cup white wine

3½ oz frozen leafy spinach

2½ oz grated Parmesan cheese

salt, black pepper

5.3 oz mushrooms (champignons)

2 tablespoons butter

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3½ oz smoked ham

Bring water and bouillon cubes to a boil and keep warm. Sauté the garlic in oil in a saucepan without coloring. Add rice and sauté for a minute while stirring. Pour in the wine and let it be soaked up by the rice. Lower the heat and dilute with bouillon, little by little. Stir occasionally. The risotto is ready when the rice is tender but still chewy in the middle. Stir in the spinach with the last of the bouillon and then the grated cheese. Flavor to taste with salt and pepper.

Fry the mushrooms in butter, garlic and thyme over high heat until nicely colored. Quickly fry the sliced ham over high heat in the same pan and serve the risotto with mushrooms and ham.

Enjoy!

Bella

Spinach Portabello Risotto - Spenatrisotto med portabellosvamp

SPINACH PORTABELLO RISOTTO

Spenatrisotto med portabellosvamp

Serves 2

½ onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

0.6 cup avorio rice (I don't know

if it's called that in English and I

can't find a translation, so I hope

it's right - it's an airy, less sticky

type of white rice)

1.6 cup vegetable bouillon

1.7 oz fresh baby spinach

2.6 oz feta cheese

salt, pepper

2 tablespoons pine nuts

2 portabello mushrooms

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Tomato salad:

1 tomato

1 tablespoon oregano or parsley

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

Peel and chop the onion and sauté it in oil in a pot. Add rice and continue cooking for a minute. Bring the bouillon to a boil. Add 0.4 cup to the rice and repeat the procedure when the rice has soaked up the liquid. Boil for 20 minutes in all and stir often. Add spinach and crumbled feta cheese. Flavor to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Fry the mushrooms over medium heat in butter until tender. 

Tomato salad:

Dice the tomato and mix with oregano or parsley, oil, vinegar and honey. Flavor with salt and pepper and serve with the risotto.

Enjoy!

Bella

Hot Tomato Rice with Aubergine and Cashews - Hett tomatris med aubergine och cashewnötter

HOT TOMATO RICE WITH AUBERGINE
AND CASHEWS
Hett tomatris med aubergine och cashewnötter

Grilled bell peppers, tomatoes and chili - enjoy red vegetables in a hot rice with crunch on top. It's important that you gently turn the tomato sauce and vegetables into the rice, so it doesn't turn into porridge.

Serves 4

1.2 cups basmati rice
1 red onion
2 garlic cloves
1 red chili fruit
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 can crushed tomatoes, approx 14 oz
1 tablespoon sugar
1 aubergine/eggplant
3 tomatoes
0.4 cup pitted black olives, e.g. Kalamata
8.8 oz grilled bell pepper from a can
0.4 cup cashews
salt, freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh oregano
0.4 cup soured cream


Boil the rice. Peel and finely chop onion and garlic. Split the chili, remove the seeds and chop finely. Fry for about 3 minutes in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add crushed tomatoes and boil for 5 minutes. Flavor with sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and some black pepper.

Cut the aubergine in smaller pieces and fry in 2 tablespoons oil in a hot frying pan until nicely colored, about 5 minutes. Flavor with ½ teaspoon salt and a little pepper.

Coarsely chop tomatoes and black olives. Cut the grilled bell pepper in chunks. Stir the boiled rice into the tomato sauce, then gently stir in the aubergine, tomatoes and bell pepper. Serve on plates and top with olives, cashews and oregano plus a dab of soured cream.

Enjoy!

Bella

Broccoli Risotto in 10 minutes - Broccolirisotto på 10 minuter

BROCCOLIRISOTTO IN 10 MINUTES
Broccolirisotto på 10 minuter

It might seem like overkill to stir together a classic risotto on a Tuesday night, but the urge for a real risotto can come anytime, even on Tuesdays. Luckily there are shortcuts that really work.

Serves 4

0.9 oz butter or margarine
1 finely chopped onion
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
14 oz risoni pasta
½ cup white wine or lemon juice
1.6 cup rich bouillon
7 oz frozen broccoli
some dried thyme
salt, pepper
0.8 cup grated parmesan


Melt the fat on rather high heat, add onion and garlic and last the risoni. Make sure all of the pasta is covered with fat. Lower the heat and pour on half of the wine and half of the bouillon. Add broccoli and thyme and fill up with remaining wine and bouillon until the risoni is done. It should be creamy. Flavor to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parmesan.

Serve with a tomato salad.

Enjoy!

Bella

Red Bell Pepper Risotto - Röd risotto med paprika

RED BELL PEPPER RISOTTO
Röd risotto med paprika

As a variation from all the potatoes I would like to suggest this risotto, that you can serve either as it is or with most meat, fish or chicken dishes. A salad and a good bread and you've got a really good meal.

Serves 4

2 onions
2 tablespoons oil
1.2 cups long-grained rice
2.4 cups meat bouillon (or vegetable if you want)
2½ oz tomato paste
1 red and 1 green bell pepper
finely chopped parsley


Peel and finely chop the onion. Sautée in oil in a saucepan, add rice and let it sizzle until transparent. Stir continuously. Add bouillon and bring it all to a boil. Lower the heat, put on a lid and boil the rice on low heat for about 15 minutes.

Trim and cut the bell peppers in pieces and add that to the rice together with the tomato paste. Continue boiling until all liquid has gone into the rice. 

Serve the risotto on a serving plate and sprinkle generously with parsley.

Enjoy!

Bella

Summer Risotto - Sommarrisotto

SUMMER RISOTTO
Sommarrisotto

Easy-made, light, practical and beautiful - this risotto with smoked sausage and mussels is a delightful summer lunch (and of course, nothing stops you from eating it at another time of year …).

Serves 4

2 leeks
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1½ teaspoon curry
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup long-grained rice
2.4 cups water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
3½ oz smoked sausage, e.g. salami
1 can mussels in water, approx 14 oz
3½ oz black olives


Trim and thinly slice the leek. Save some of the green for decoration. Sautée the leek in some fat in a pot. Add curry and paprika. Put the rice in the pot and let it fry with the spices for a little while. Add water and bouillon cube and boil on low heat, covered, for about 20 minutes.

Chop the sausage. Open the mussel can and pour off the liquid. Add sausage, mussels and olives in the rice when it's done. Decorate with some of the green from the leek and serve straight away.

Enjoy!

Bella

Leftover Bacon Risotto - Restrisotto med bacon

LEFTOVER BACON RISOTTO
Restrisotto med bacon

To make cooking magic out of leftovers is very rewarding. Here's a tip for a scrumptious risotto, spicy and delicious for dinner.

Serves 4

1.2 cups long-grained rice
2.4 cups bouillon (I normally use chicken bouillon)
2 onions
1 carrot
2 tomatoes
approx 11 oz leftover roast or other leftover boneless meat
3½ oz streaky bacon
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
salt, celery salt, black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley


Boil the rice in bouillon on low heat, covered, for about 20 minutes. Trim the vegetables. Chop the onions and coarsely grate the carrot. Scald and skin the tomatoes and cut them in wedges. Dice leftover meat and bacon. Heat up the fat in a pot and sautée onions, carrot and bacon without browning. Increase the heat, add the diced meat and quickly brown while stirring. Flavor with salt, celery salt and black pepper, then add rice and tomato wedges.

Heat through and stir gently so that all blends well. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve the risotto sprinkled with chopped parsley and a salad.

Enjoy!

Bella

Ham and Vegetable Rice

HAM AND VEGETABLE RICE
Skinkris med grönsaker

For this, you cook everything in the same pan. It's quick too, so you should have food on the table in less than 30 minutes. All ingredients keep well and can be stored at home in the fridge or in the freezer.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
7 oz smoked, shredded ham
0.4 cup finely chopped onions
1.6 cups long-grained rice
3.3 cups vegetable bouillon
approx 9 oz frozen mix of green peas, corn and red bell pepper
or some other veggie mix you like
0.8 cup diced cheese
½ teaspoon salt

Sauce:
0.8 cup soured cream
0.2 cup chili sauce
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Italian salad spice
or dried sage


Sautée onions and ham lightly in the fat for a minute or so, without browning. Add rice and dilute with bouillon, flavor with salt, cover and boil for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Let the veggie mix boil with the rice mix for the last 5 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the diced cheese and serve the sauce separately. It's really good with some fresh cucumber.

Enjoy!

Bella

Bell pepper risotto - Paprikarisotto

BELL PEPPER RISOTTO
Paprikarisotto

A hearty risotto with diced beef. Flavour with paprika and thyme and let your thoughts go to Hungary.

4 servings

14 oz boneless, tender beef

4 slices bacon
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons paprika
1 cup meat bouillon
¾ cup long-grained rice
1 can whole tomatoes, 14 oz

Dice the meat in even-sized cubes. Cut the bacon in pieces and chop the onion. Shred the bell pepper. Heat the oil in a saucepan and brown the meat until slightly coloured. Add bacon and onion and sizzle for a few minutes. Sprinkle with salt, thyme and paprika and blend in bouillon, rice and tomatoes.

Simmer it all on low heat, covered, for about 20 minutes. Blend in the sweet pepper after about 10 minutes. Flavour to taste with salt and pepper and serve the risotto with a salad, bread and a piece of cheese.

Enjoy!

Bella

Luxury risotto - Lyxrisotto (retro)

LUXURY RISOTTO
Lyxrisotto

A well-tasting, delicious dish, liked by all.

4 servings

14 oz tender beef

8 oz liver from young cattle
2 to 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
salt, white pepper
½ can mushrooms, 8 oz or 7 oz fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon Chinese soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1/3 cup thick cream
3 tomatoes
2 to 3 onions
1 /3 cup pimiento, pickled
¾ cup long-grained rice
1 ¾ cups water

Put the liver in water for a few hours (in my family we always put it in milk, whether it’s necessary or not). Dice meat and liver. Heat up some fat in a frying pan until really hot, then quickly brown first the beef, then the liver. Transfer to a saucepan.

Whisk out the pan with some water and pour this over the meat. Flavour with salt and white pepper and add mushrooms, soy sauce, tomato purée, cream and tomatoes in pieces. Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, brown the chopped onions until golden. When the cooking time is nearly finished, you take the lid off and reduce the sauce almost completely. Boil the rice for 18 minutes. Pour the meat in the middle of a big serving plate and place the rice in a ring around it. Then everyone can mix as the want.

If you wish, you can serve some grated cheese in a separate bowl.

Enjoy!

Bella

Creamy risotto with chicken - Krämig risotto med kycklingfilé

CREAMY RISOTTO WITH CHICKEN
Krämig risotto med kycklingfilé

4 servings

4 chicken fillets, in all approx 1 lb

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Risotto:

1 small onion
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 ¼ cups arborio rice
3 ¼ cups vegetable bouillon
½ pot fresh basil
3½ oz chèvre cheese

Mushroom sauce:

7 oz fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1 ¼ cups water
2 tablespoons concentrated veal bouillon
1/3 cup cream or crème fraîche
1 teaspoon Chinese soy sauce

Pickled red onions:

1 red onion
1 tablespoon pickling vinegar, 12%
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons water

Start with the red onion. Peel and thinly slice it. Mix pickling vinegar, sugar and water and put the onion in for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Risotto:

Peel and finely chop the onion. Sauté until glossy in a saucepan, add rice and 2 cups bouillon. Boil on low heat, no lid on, and stir occasionally. When the bouillon has disappeared into the rice after about 15 minutes, add more bouillon (1/3 cup at a time) and wait until all liquid has disappeared before adding more. Stir occasionally. Finally chop the basil and stir it in. Crumble the cheese and add it. Flavour to taste with salt and pepper. The risotto should be creamy.

Split the chicken fillets lengthwise, so you have 4 really thin slices. Fry them in butter or margarine and flavour with salt and pepper.

Sauce:

Trim and slice the mushrooms and fry them. Dust with flour and blend it in. Add water, bouillon and cream and let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes. Flavour to taste with soy sauce, pepper and maybe some salt.

Serve with boiled potatoes or rice and a tomato salad.

Enjoy!

Bella

Chanterelle risotto with salmon - Kantarellrisotto med citronlax

CHANTERELLE RISOTTO WITH SALMON
Kantarellrisotto med citronlax

4 servings

Risotto:

2 to 4 cups trimmed chanterelles
(I know it's very strange to measure mushrooms
in cups but I can't translate it any other way …)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
salt, pepper
1 onion
approx 4 cups chicken bouillon
¾ cup white wine
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ¼ cups good risotto rice, e.g. avorio
or some other rice
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 bag baby spinach
black pepper

Salmon:

4 serving-sized pieces of salmon fillet
(in Sweden that’s 4½ oz a piece)
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt, lemon pepper
fresh juice from ½ lemon
finely shredded zest from 1 lemon

fresh herbs for decoration

Cut large chanterelles in pieces. Heat the fat in a frying pan and fry the chanterelles until crisp on rather high heat for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and flavour with salt and pepper.

Finely chop the onions. Bring the bouillon to a boil together with the wine and keep warm. Sautée the onion in olive oil in a pot until soft but not coloured. Add rice and sautée for about 1 minute. Pour on half of the bouillon-wine mixture and boil the rice on low heat, uncovered. Stir occasionally. Add remaining liquid now and then, approx ¾ cup at a time, but make sure everything is taken up by the rice before adding more. Continue until the rice is only just tender, approx 20 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from heat, turn in the spinach and stir until softened. Add half of the cheese and then the chanterelles.

Fry the salmon in oil on medium heat for about 3 minutes per side. Flavour both sides with salt and pepper. Drizzle the lemon juice over the salmon and top with lemon zest. Cover with a lid and fry on low heat for about 5 minutes in peace and quiet.

Serve the risotto with the salmon and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Decorate with herbs.

Enjoy!

Bella

Spicy risotto - Kryddig risotto

SPICY RISOTTO
Kryddig risotto

Risotto with corn is a perfect, easy-to-make everyday dish which we’re trying out for dinner today. Basil, garlic and finely chopped leek gives a twang. Serve with salad and bread. It’s not really adequate to call it a risotto since you don’t add the bouillon little by little, but of course you can do as you prefer. :-D

4 servings

2 leeks
3/4 cup long-grained rice

or other rice you think is good for risotto
about 2 cups bouillon
1 can corn, approx 12 oz
1 package frozen peas, approx 7 oz
½ teaspoon dried basil
2 crushed garlic cloves
5 oz smoked ham
finely chopped parsley
finely chopped leek
some tomato paste or chili sauce

Rinse, trim and shred the leek. Save some for decoration. Put leek, rice and bouillon in a saucepan, heat it all up and let the rice boil until all liquid is gone, approx 20 minutes.

Drain the corn (you don’t want the sweet liquid in the risotto). Add corn and peas to the rice and flavour with basil and garlic. Shred the ham and quickly sizzle it up in a dry, hot frying pan, then add them to the rice. Pour the risotto in a bowl, sprinkle with parsley and leek and drizzle some tomato purée or chili sauce on top.

Serve with a large bowl of tossed salad and some bread, if you wish.

Enjoy!

Bella